Chilled Cucumber Soup

4 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 - 2 c water
2 c plain yogurt (or half sour cream)
1 clove garlic, peeled
several mint leaves
2 tbsp fresh dill
1-2 tsp salt
1 tbsp honey
2 scallions, finely chopped

Combine the chopped cucumber, 1 c water, yogurt, garlic, mint, dill, honey, and 1 tsp salt in a blender or food processor. Puree the ingredients, adding more of the water until the soup is a consistency you like. Season with more salt to taste. Transfer the soup to a large bowl and chill for several hours. Garnish each serving with chopped scallions.

This one comes is from the Farmer John Cookbook (available at our Farm Shop), and Karen made it on Tuesday - she says its the same as every other cucumber soup - really delicious and great on hot days. I won't say that the kids LOVED it, but they definitely ate it without too many grimaces.

Compound Butter

Making compound butter is an easy way to incorporate herbs into your diet year-round.
1 lb butter, unsalted (find 1 lb blocks of Cabot butter in the farm shop)
4 Tbsp chopped fresh herbs (choose one, or combine: thyme, oregano, mint, parsely, sage)
2 tsp sea salt
½ tsp black pepper

 First bring the butter to room temperature. If the butter is too hard, it will be more challenging to incorporate the herbs evenly. Cut the butter into chunks and add o a large bowl, food processor, or Kitchen Aid stand up mixer. Start whipping the butter until it starts to cream. Add the herbs, salt, and pepper, continue to whip until all evenly incorporated. Add 1/4-1/2 pound increments to a large sheet of parchment. Roll the parchment up as you would a sushi roll, forming a tight log.

Recipe from Homegrown.org

Pamela's Fresh Pea Soup

1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 small head of lettuce, shredded
a hand full of fresh spinach
1 tbsp chopped parsley
5 cups fresh young shelling peas
5 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup uncooked white rice
2 tsps sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint
1 cup milk
fresh mint sprigs

Heat butter and oil in pot, add garlic, sauté. Add lettuce, spinach, and parley, cook and stir until vegetables wilt. Add peas and 3 cups of stock. Cover pot, bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat. In food processor, process in batches until coarsely processed. Return to pot, add remaining stock, and bring to boil. Add rice, reduce heat and cook for 15 minutes. Add sugar, salt, pepper, mint, and milk. Heat slowly, stirring until soup is hot. Do not boil. Garnish with mint sprigs. Makes about 7 cups.

 From Shepherd's Garden Seed Catalog